The Fire Within Our Hearts
by Hext9
Summary: One fated day a young boy saves a little girl whose life was nothing but suffering and loneliness. Ten years later, he enrolls the imperial army to avenge the death of his childhood friends. During his first mission the girl from his past appears before him. However, he can't remember her or the promise both made, and to make things worse: she's a member of Night Raid!
1. Kill the Reunion

_**Hello everyone,**_

 _Hext9 here._

 _This time i bring you a new adventure that explores a 'What if' scenario of Tatsumi becoming an imperial soldier after reaching the Capital, instead of joining Night Raid. However, there will be a lot of surprises, twists and more. Also, Tatsumi will get a cool new teigu and great abilities._

 _Suggestions, advices and constructive critics are welcome, so don't be afraid of leaving a comment in the reviews section._

 _ **Enjoy the chapter!**_

* * *

 **The Fire Within Our Hearts**

 **\- Chapter I: Kill the Reunion -**

 **"I love you!"**

 _Exclaimed with happiness a beautiful girl who was standing before me and whose long silky hair was flowing with the chill breeze of a typical day of winter._

 _The girl slowly approached to me, stopping by just a few inches away. She gently touched my face with her small and delicate hands, i could feel my heart beating at an extremely fast pace. Both our looks met and i couldn't help but to feel attracted by her gorgeous eyes._

 _As we slowly got closer and closer, our lips were a couple of centimeters of distance. I immediately noticed that she was looking at me with a flush of red on her cheeks. The young woman then closed her eyes and despite me feeling somewhat confused about this situation. I slowly let myself to seal my lips into hers. As we kissed i could taste her sweet and soft lips in a passional yet innocent kiss that filled my being with a magical feeling._

 _However, as soon as our mouths separate she told me two words that pierced through my heart._

 ** _"Goodbye Tatsumi."_**

 _I immediately got shocked by her sudden statement while i notice a stream of tears that began to run down her cheeks. The girl's body then started to vanish with no logical explanation._

 _ **"Wait! Who are you!?"** I ask her while i desperately try to reach her, but it's futile as her whole body is disappearing in front of me._

 _ **"Don't leave me!"** I plied to her once again to no avail._

 _ **"Thank you for everything."** The girl says with a melancolic voice as she smiles to me one last time before closing her eyes and getting engulfed by a gust of cherry blossom petals._

 _As a leave my arm extended trying to stop her from disappearing, one of the petals lands on my hand. I look at it feeling completely heartbroken while snowflakes began to fall around me._

 _I experience a mix of sadness, despair and anger flowing through all my body. I collapse into my knees on the soft and cold snow with the cruel sensation that i lost her forever._

 _Suddenly, my body begins to get engulfed in a fire that comes from my interior. T_ _he flames then turn to blue color and my whole being is burning without signs of stopping but i don't care. I'm already broken and death inside._

 _I let let out a scream of pain._

 ** _The pain of losing your most loved one._**

 _I suddenly woke up on my bed confused by the events of my dream and i notice that tears are falling from my eyes despite of having no idea about the identity of the girl who appeared in my dream._

 _" **Who are you?"** I ask in frustration as i wonder if said girl is someone i forgot from my past._

* * *

Tatsumi is a young man of average height who is in his middle to late teens. He has medium-lenght brown hair with a cowlick on top and vibrant emerald green eyes.

Six months ago, he joined the Imperial Army after his two childhood friends were killed by a group of bandits that attacked them while they were on their way to the Capital in hopes to earn money and help their village to pay for the high taxes that were imposed by the Prime Minister, with the excuse of strenghten the Empire's military force to combat the ongoing Revolution that started to take full force in the whole country.

After the death of his dear friends. The young man vowed to avenge them so he offered himself as an army recruit in hopes of finding the culprits and getting money to help his village.

During his short time as a trainee in the imperial academy; Tatsumi displayed combat abilities that were deemed as outstanding by someone of his age. However, he was too rash and naive but his instructors saw a lot of potential in him. The young man was promoted from cadet to private just a couple of months after he enrolled the army.

After he woke up and recovered from the cruel dream he experienced. The brunette took a bath, ate breakfast and put on his military uniform. After leaving the barracks where he lived, the green eyed needed to go back to his room because he forgot to bring his sword. The same sword he was given by his elders before leaving his village. In the academy instructors told him to pick up a new weapon. However, he refused argumenting that it had a strong sentimental value, besides being sharp enough to bring down an earth dragon so they had no other option but to accept.

Tatsumi then headed to the Imperial army headquarters, a series of tall buildings with several training fields in between where thousand of soldiers prepared for all kind of combat situations. He reunited in one of the meeting rooms with some fellow members of his squadron who were awaiting for his superior; Captain Maddox, a veteran soldier who bravely fought against the belligerent northern tribes and countless invaders from other countries.

Great motivator and excellent tactician. He often told Tatsumi stories about his time as a proud soldier who always did his best to protect the Empire in several wars. However he was in disagreement with the cruel and brutal methods employed by several high ranking officials, as well as the rampant corruption inside the Empire. Nonetheless, he had no other option but to follow orders and tried his best to cope with them. Unluckly for him, superiors noticed his reticence and stopped him from climbing to higher ranks.

Even with this obstacle, the man continued to fight for his ideals and was optimistic that someday the Emperor would notice and change the things that were wrong inside the Empire.

When the tall and buff official entered the squadron planning room, everyone stood up and saluted their superior. The imposing bald man who was in his mid fifties had a medium lenght grayish beard and a walrus style mustache that gave him an aura of manliness. But what standed from him aside his beard and mustache were his right missing hand and several scars all over his body, that served as a frequent reminder of the countless battles he fought in the past.

"Good morning, fellow soldiers!" Exclaimed the war veteran to about twenty soldiers under his charge.

"Good morning, captain!" The brown haired replied at unison alongside his companions to the exemplar man every subordinate of his squadron looked at with respect and admiration.

"Listen everyone! Today we were designated to be the bodyguards of the Treasurer of the Empire, who is a close friend of Prime Minister Honest. He'll be attending a party organized by imperial officials and high profile nobles. The party will take place in his mansion located on the outskirts of the capital. Our duty will be to keep him safe during said party, so prepare to leave in a couple of hours!"

As his subordinates were preparing, the captain looked with attention at the youngest of his men. A talented country boy that reminded him a lot of his own son, a young man who was a very promising soldier. Sadly for him, his son died in an ambush ten yers ago in the northern wars when he was trying to help some innocent civilians to escape from their burning village, so he understood how Tatsumi felt about his fallen friends. He often gave him advices like a father usually does with a son.

"Ready for the mission, boy!?"

"Yes, captain!" Answered the young soldier with enthusiam despite feeling anxious, but ready for his first important mission after weeks of training and minor missions.

"That's the spirit! Now get ready to depart."

When Tatsumi and co. were leaving the imperial hq's. He noticed how a woman with long sky blue hair and sharp looking eyes was greeted with great admiration by all the soldiers around her, something that caught the young man attention. He immediately recognized her as the famous and fearsome General Esdeath whom he has heard all kind of rumors about her. However, Captain Maddox told Tatsumi three facts that were true about her:

1\. She is the Empire's Strongest,

2\. She is an excellent leader and finally;

3\. She is a merciless sadist.

The young soldier was glad to be fighthing on the same side as the woman known as the 'Ice Queen'.

After traveling for some hours, Maddox and his troops arrived by the afternoon at the huge mansion surrounded by gorgeous gardens, huge fountains and statues of the Empire's past and current rulers, including the legendary First Emperor and Primer Minister Honest that were covered in pure gold, something that made the young soldier question about the real destination of the taxes paid by the small villages like his hometown.

A short and skinny middle-aged man with short black hair, french-style mustache and a pointy goatee stood in front of Maddox and his men.

"So you are going to be my personal security during the party, right?" Asked the weird looking man to Maddox with total indifference.

"That's right, Treasurer Robsburgh."

"Captain. I want you to set a perimeter around my propety. I also want some of your men in the entrance of my mansion and the gardens."

"Okay everyone, your heard it! Go on to your positions and stay on guard for possible rebels attacks or roaming danger beasts." The official ordered his troops.

At midnight the fancy party was at it's highest point with dozens of goverment officials and noblemen enjoying exotic foods and getting drunk with expensive beverages.

Tatsumi, who was on watch duty began to wonder if the girl of his dream was Sayo, his best friend along Leyasu. The three were always very close and hanged out together either for playing or making pranks to their elders since they were little.

" _Maybe she wanted to tell that she loved me before dying and that's why she is appearing in my dreams..."_ The young imperial thought.

 _"But i can't recall her having those kind of feelings for me. Although, i had a crush on her when were younger. I never tried to pursue her romantically because of fear of ruining our friendship."_

 _"One day, the three of us decided to help our village to pay the high taxes and embarked onto a long journey towards the capital to get a job and earn money."_

 _"After i got lost when we were just one day away from our destiny. I promised to meet them in the capital, however, three days later after searching for both I was told by the Capital Defense Force that their bodies were found on a road where bandits frequently ambush travelers to steal their money and food. I blamed myself for what happened to because i wasn't able to protect them. Getting over their deaths was really hard, but now i'm determined to avenge them at all costs."_

Suddenly, a poweful blast was heard in the distance and an energy beam was seen crossing through the darkness of the night.

The shot impacted directly into the skull of the Treasurer, who was out in the terrace of his house bragging about how the Prime Minister was looking forward to increase the taxes for the small villages.

The people inside the mansion started to scream and run in despair after the news of the Treasurer's death.

"Listen everyone. The beam came from behind a small cliff about one hundred meters south of the mansion. Let's find the killer before he escapes!" Maddox ordered his men.

The soldiers rushed to the cliff to find the assassin, but halfway they were suddenly stopped by a young woman with glasses and long purple hair. She was wielding some sort of giant scissors shaped sword with a panda face.

"Who are you!?"

"…" The woman who had an emotionless expression and cold eyes of the same color as her hair didn't responded to the question made by Maddox.

"Are you a friend of the one who assassinated Treasurer Robsburgh!?"

But the girl didn't muttered any single word.

Three soldiers took out their swords and surrounded the glasses n wearing girl. The men warned her one last time before launching against the silent woman, who easily blocked their attacks with her weapon. Then, she made a horizontal spin with her sword slashing the men in half, causing Tatsumi and the rest of the imperials sans Maddox, to froze in shock by the brutal deaths of their fellow companions.

"This woman… She isn't an ordinary assassin!"

"I wasn't expecting Night Raid to come" Spoke the experienced soldier with a serious voice after remembering the face of the assassin on a wanted poster.

"Night Raid?" Asked the boy in confusion.

"Yeah. They are a group of skilled assassins working for the Revolutionary Army and whose targets are important members of the imperial government and army."

As the purple haired continued to slash incoming soldiers who were trying to land a hit on her. Tatsumi got paralyzed in fear by the brutality of the female assassin.

The young man then recalled how he wasn't able to do something about the deaths of Sayo and Leyasu, managing to gather enough courage to fight. Only to get stopped by Captain Maddox who told him to evacuate the people who were still in the mansion to their carriages and escape into the forest located behind the mansion.

"Huh!? But i want to fight! I've trained and waited too long for this moment!" Tatsumi exclaimed in anger.

"IT'S AN ORDER!" Yelled the fierce man.

"You're too young to die here. Live to fight another day!"

"Y-yes, captain!" The imperial exclaimed while wiping a few tears that were beginning to form in his eyes.

 _"Take care, kiddo..."_

"You won't defeat me so easily, girl! After all I'm the great Captain Maddox!" The man exclaims after clashing swords with the purple haired assassin.

Meanwhile, the sniper on the cliff was shooting soldiers who were trying to take advantage of the battle between her partner and the veteran soldier to get close to her position. She then focused her attention on a lone soldier that was helping drunk people who were left behind while trying to escape. Just when she was about to pull the trigger of her weapon. The girl stopped after seeing into her scope that her target resembled closely to someone special she met years ago.

 _"Could it be him?"_ The young girl asked in her mind.

After he escaped into the forest and ran for some minutes without looking back. Our hero decided to rest for a short moment to recover his breath.

"Where am i!?" The brunette looked around him before realizing that he got lost into a vast and dense forest.

"Oh great! Now i'm lost in this fucking big forest without anyone in sight who can help me to get out of here!"

Then he suddenly heard movement coming from the trees and bushes around him.

"A danger beast!? Just what else can happen to me!?" Tatsumi exclaimed in frustration because he knew that in his situation he was at clear disadvantage, despite having experience in facing and killing ferocious danger beasts that continously attacked his village and tried to eat him on his way to the Capital.

"Tatsumi?" A girl of below average height with very long pink hair tied in twintails by a pink ribbon and a scrunchie appeared from a tree behind the brunette.

She was wearing a frilled long pink dress with black stockings underneath and purple shoes.

"...what!?" The imperial immediately noticed that she is carrying a giant rifle that was almost of her size.

"Shit! She must be sniper that assassinated Robsburgh!"

After looking at the young soldier for a short moment, the girl ran towards him at full speed.

"Oh fuck! Not now!" Tatsumi screams in frustration as his sword fails to drew from its scabbard. Then he closes his eyes and prepares for the worst.

"UWAAAAAH!" The soldier exclaims as he got tackled by the pinkette, causing both to fall to the ground and the short girl tightly hugs the boy to his complete surprise.

"Tatsumi! I can't believe it's you!" The girl exclaims with joy while looking intensly at him with her round and expressive pink eyes.

 _"S-she's cute!"_ A blushing Tatsumi comments in his thoughts.

"You surely have grown up a lot." The pinkette says with happiness.

"W-wait! Who are you and how do you know me!? Confused by the recent events the young man inquires the happy girl.

"It's me, Mine!"

"Mine?"

"Don't you recognize me?" Asked the pink haired sniper with curiousness.

"I-i'm sorry, i don't remember you..." Tatsumi replies after trying his best to remember the girl in front of him to no avail.

A sad expression appears on the young girl's face after the answer of the boy that changed her life. She then stares at the bright stars that shine above their heads.

"Ten years ago you saved my life and we both made a promise." The pinkette says with nostalgia in her voice as she looks at the young man with a warm smile and begins to recall the fated day in which the two crossed paths.

 ** _What happened ten years ago between the imperial soldier and the assassin sniper from Night Raid?_**

* * *

 **Author notes:**

 _I hope you liked the first chap of this fic._

 _For those interested in the future of my fic 'Kill the Hardships', expect good news about in the next few days._

 _See you the next chapter!_


	2. Kill the Fated Day

**The Fire Within Our Hearts**

 **Chapter II**

 **Kill the Fated Day**

 _ **Ten years ago...**_

 _It was a sunny day at the city of Azarth, capital of the western territories that were claimed and annexed by the Empire after a bloody war with the west country of Krut._

 **"** COME BACK YOU LITTLE THIEF!" Shouted a couple of angry looking men to a short girl with long umkempt pink hair, and who was running away from both men while being barefoot and carrying a baguette in her hands that she stole from the shelves of their bakery a few moments ago.

The little girl moved nimbly through the narrow alleys of the city until she run into a dark dead-end. "It seems that you won't escape this time, dirty thief!" One of her pursuers exclaimed.

"I was hungry and I don't have money, but i will pay for it when i have enough!" The malnourished girl tried to convince the two men without any success.

"You stole from us and we are going to take you to the authorities!" The younger man, a tall and athletic individual, replied angrily.

"What if we get rid of her for good!?" The older one, who was a short and buff man proposed to his sibling.

"But what are you are saying, brother!? The imperial police will take care of this by sending her to an orphanage where she will be punished."

"Just think about it! One day she will escape from the orphanage and will probably stole from us again or to someone else with the poor excuse that she doesn't have money!"

"I promise i won't do it again!" The girl protested.

 **"** SHUT UP, WESTERNER SCUM **!"** The older brother slapped the pink haired girl so hard that he sent her to the ground, making her to drop the piece of bread she was carrying and causing that tears began to form in her round and expressive eyes that reflected a life of suffering and loneliness.

"Look at her! Nobody is going to care if she disappears from this world!"

"Well, it seems that you may be right." The younger baker got convinced by his brother after thinking for a short moment.

"What if we have some 'fun' with her before we end her miserable existence!? An evil smile then appeared on the faces of the two brothers that caused the girl to froze in shock.

 **"** NOOOOOOO **!"** The pinkette exclaimed as the two men were trying to rip the old and threadbare dress that she was wearing. Although rather than a dress it looked more like a bunch of rags knitted together.

"PLEASE, LET ME GO!" The small girl desperately begged to both men to stop, but her cries of help were denied.

"Cover her mouth or someone will hear her cries and sobs!" The older man ordered his sibling as they were trying to subdue the orphan girl who was fighting back with all her forces. However, after a couple of minutes the girl began lost the will to fight and resigned to her fate. _"He's right, nobody is going to miss me. Perhaps is better if I disappear from this world..."_ The suffering girl thought after the words of the cruel man echoed in her mind.

"YOU TWO! STOP HURTING THAT LITTLE GIRL! **"** A young boy of about seven years old with brown hair and emerald green eyes exclaimed by the surprise of the two brothers and the young girl.

"Huh!? He is only a child..." The younger brother was relieved that they weren't caught by a police or an adult.

"Mind your own business, kid!" One of the brothers yelled.

"I won't repeat it again! I won't let you to keep hurting an innocent girl!" The brunette spoke with a firm voice.

"She's just an orphan thief that no one cares about!" The older brother exclaimed while leaving the girl to his brother and focusing his attention on the young boy.

"Well, but i do care about her!"

The eyes of the pink haired widened after the words of the brave kid.

"Enough talking, brother. Let's give a good lesson to this brat about not meddling in adults affairs!"

The young boy then drew a wooden sword from his belt and pointed it towards both men while giving them a serious glare.

 **"** WAHAHAHA! **"** The brothers laughed loudly at the same time. "Do you seriously think that you will hurt us with a wooden stick, brat?"

"Yes, and i wouldn't be laughing if i were you!" Exclaimed with great confidence the brown haired kid.

 **"** I'M GOING TO TEACH YOU ABOUT NOT TO MESS WITH ME!" The buff man yelled as he ran towards the young boy to grab him by the neck, taking advantage of his superior size and strenght, only to get hit with the wooden sword in a fast attack to the head that instantly knocked the man for surprise of his brother and the small girl.

"YOU LITTLE SHIT **!"** The younger sibling then launched enraged against the boy, throwing punches and kicks that he managed to block with his weapon. During an attack in which the man left himself open, the young swordsman used the grip of his wooden sword to hit the man in the stomach, causing him to fall to the ground while grasping for air.

"Come with me!" The green eyed exclaimed as he took the hand of the girl and the two ran away from the unconscious men.

While they were escaping from the area, the cheeks of the little girl turned slighlty red as her hand was hold by the warm hand of her saviour. However, she immediately suspected about his true intentions.

"H-how do i know that what you did back there wasn't an act?"

"Have trust in me!" The boy exclaimed with an honest smile that made the short girl to trust in him.

Once they were in the main streets of the city. The two children introduced to each other.

"My name is Tatsumi! What's your name?!"

"M-Mine…" Shyly answered the pink haired.

"Nice to meet you, Mine!" The young boy cheerfully said to the girl.

"M-me too…" Spoke with a soft voice the lonely girl not being used to social interactions.

"And why those two men wanted to harm you?" Tatsumi asked with curiousness.

"I-i stole from them because i don't have any money." The girl answers with a shaky voice.

"What about your family?"

"I don't have any, since I have use of reason i have been alone in this world…" A sad expression appears on the face of the girl after speaking.

"Oh, i see... But what about friends, other people!?"

"Most people discriminate and ridicule me for having foreign blood in my veins. The Empire encourages this, so a lot of other people suffer from the same. I hate it!" The westerner girl exclaimed in frustration.

 _"Poor girl. She really had a hard life, there must be something i can do, but i don't know what…"_ Tatsumi thought.

"And how did you find me?" The girl asked after calming a bit.

"I come from a small village that suffers long and crude winters. We usually prepare for it by obtaining food and other goods from other regions, so i was with my elders in a trip to trade with local tribes. I got distracted by a cool-looking sword while walking through this big city and got lost before finding you..." The brunette said as he scratched the back of his head and wondered about how his elders would react once he reunited with them.

The little girl giggled and smiled to him. Tatsumi thought she was very pretty, despite her shabby appearence.

While the two were walking through the crowded streets of the city, the brown haired boy noticed the looks of hatred and discrimination towards her and the westerner tribe people that she talked about.

Then he saw an ice cream shop and took his hands to his pockets, finding a few gold coins that one of his elders gave him to buy something he liked.

"Wait for me, i'll get back soon!" The country boy told to the girl that got anxious about being left alone, however, he got back within a couple of minutes with two ice creams in his hands.

"I forgot to ask for your favorite flavour, so i bought you an starwberry one because it matches the color of your hair and eyes!"

"It's so delicious! The pinkette exclaimed after tasting an ice cream for the first time in her life. As she was enjoying her creamy and sweet ice cream, tears began to fall down from her cheeks.

"Why are you crying?" A confused boy asked.

"No one had been so kind to me!" The pinkette exclaims with tears on her eyes.

"I may not have experienced what you have been through but you have to be strong!, besides, you look very cute when you smile!"

"T-thank you..." The girl blushed after the boy compliment and stops crying.

After finishing their respective ice cream, both kids went to a play to a nearby park where other kids tried to bully Mine, only for them to be fend off by Tatsumi and who got very happy to see Mine smile and have fun, even if it was for a short time during her suffering life.

 _"It's getting late, i need to find my elders!"_ The boy thought after the sun began to hide behind the horizon.

"I hope to see you again, Mine!" Tatsumi exclaimed as he was leaving the little girl alone again.

Mine understood that the chances to see him again were very low because he lived in a small village far away. Her eyes began to get watery, but she did her best possible to contain her tears.

Tatsumi noticed this and decided to cheer her up. "When I grow up, i'm going to fight for the people who are unfairly opressed and discriminated!" The young boy exclaimed making the young girl to feel inspired by his words.

"If that's the case, then i'm also giving my best for the cease of violence and discrimination against my people!"A motivated Mine exclaimed.

" _She's isn't just a cute and sweet girl, Mine is also strong despite everything she has suffered…_ " The brown haired was admired by the determination of the young girl.

"Then is a promise!" Both kids crossed their pinky fingers sealing their promise.

"Would you like to be my girlfriend the next time we see each other?" The brave kid proposed with the unexplainable feeling that the two were going to reunite in a future.

The pink haired got red after such proposition and nodded with her head shyly. Nonetheless, she was extremely happy and felt like a princess who was going to wait for her blue prince like in a fairy tale.

"Well i guess it's time to say goodbye. See you!" Exclaimed the boy while smiling and waving his hand.

As she was saying farewell to her saviour. Mine was determined to get strong and fight to prevent that other people would suffer the same as her. She promised to gave her best for that and wait for some day to be together as the girlfriend of the boy, who not only saved her life but gave her a reason to live and fight for a better future.

* * *

 _ **Present day…**_

"So have you remember me and our promise!?" The pinkette asked cheerfully.

"Your face is somewhat familiar, but i still can't remember you..." A confused Tatsumi apologized.

"How can you forgot about it?, what happened to you!?" Upset by the answer the boy, the short girl exclaimed with frustration in her voice.

 _"Why can't i remember nothing of that day!?_ The brunette was frustrated as well for not having any memory of what happened ten years ago.

After a long pause. Mine calmed herself and thought that maybe something happened to him during the time they were separated.

"I'm sorry... It's just that what you did that day was so important for me, you changed my whole life!" The pink haired girl said with sadness after looking at the troubled face of her saviour, understanding that he was telling the truth.

Suddenly, the purple haired woman with the scissors-shapped sword appeared in front of Mine and Tatsumi, who instantly recognized the young woman, shocking him.

"Sheele?" Asked the female sniper at the sight of her comrade.

"I was so worried for you, Mine!" The glasses wearing girl exclaimed with the worryness of a mother for her child, and continued. "I searched for you thinking that something bad happened to you!, i'm glad that you're safe! The young woman spoke with a relieved voice and a motherly looking face.

However, the woman kind eyes immediately turned to a cold ones, after seeing an imperial soldier close to her friend.

"WAIT SHEELE! HE'S THE BOY WHO I TALKED ABOUT!" Mine tried to stop her teammate, but the young woman was too focused on her enemy.

Determined to not dying, the young soldier drew his sword and prepared to fight.

 ** _Can Tatsumi hold his own against the merciless assassin?_**

* * *

 _I hope you liked this chapter._

 _Also, thanks for all your follows/favorites and reviews._

 _See you next chapter!_


	3. Kill the Troublesome Situation

**The Fire Within Our Hearts**

 **Chapter III**

 **Kill the Troublesome Situation**

Tatsumi, a young imperial soldier who was in his first mission, got suddenly in a live or die situation when Night Raid disrupted and attacked the party held at the mansion of the Empire's Treasurer, who was assassinated alongside Tatsumi's fellow squad members.

While he was escaping from the site, a girl named Mine appeared before him and told him that ten years ago he saved her life and together made a promise. However, he couldn't recognized her and remember said promise, not too mention she was a member of Night Raid.

During their meeting, the young woman whose name was Sheele found them she was very relieved to found her companion like a worried mother when she founds her lost child, but until at Tatsumi's sight her kind eyes suddenly turned cold and merciless, launching herself against him.

The purple haired woman began attacking Tatsumi with her giant scissors-shaped weapon in a series of powerful slashes that made him to stay at the defensive by trying to dodge and block her attacks. Tatsumi then noticed that the purple haired assassin's weapon was so big that she needed time for each slash, so he waited till she left herself wide open and when that moment came, he stepped towards her with a fast upwards strike of his sword that she managed to block in a split second by swinging her weapon like it weighted like nothing and surprising the young soldier who was dumbfounded about what happened.

"I-i was sure that my slash was going to make contact against you! How did you managed to block it!?" A confused Tatsumi asked.

"I can adjust the weight i put in each of my weapon's movements, making it heavier than my own weight or even lighter than a feather." The fearsome assassin spoke with an emotionless voice.

Meanwhile, the pink haired sniper was anxiously watching the two fight and feeling conflicted about the situation before her eyes.

As their battle continued, the young woman managed to corner the brown haired against a wide tree and viciously tried to rip him with her weapon. Tatsumi who was giving his best to hold his own against the girl's ferocious attacks, was becoming more and more exhausted.

 _'If I don't do something about I'm going to get killed!'_ Tatsumi exclaimed inside his mind as his strenght was worning out by each strike of the merciless girl.

The young man then found motivation on the words of Captain Maddox, his superior who told him to keep staying alive in order to change the Empire from the inside, something that the veteran man couldn't achieve.

In an incredible fast reaction, Tatsumi ducked at a incoming slash of the purple haired, making her weapon to stuck on the wide tree. After his impressive dodge, he rolled on the ground and stood up to face the assassin woman once again, as she managed to free her deadly scissors.

"It's time to take out trash like you." The young woman coldly said to Tatsumi as she prepares to finish the fight.

Act followed, an intense bright light suddenly cames from the assassin's weapon, leaving Tatsumi temporary blind and defenseless.

"W-what happened?! I-i can see anything!" The imperial exclaims as he tries to open his eyes to no avail.

"This is my trump card, Extase's shinning light." The woman said.

The purple haired then rushed to slash Tatsumi in half with an horizantal swing, luckily for him, he managed to use his other senses to sense her killing intent and narrowly evaded her attack. Nonetheless, the slash still made contact with the lower quadrant of his abdomen, causing a large wound.

"GUAH!" The imperial soldier exclaims in pain due to the deep slice on his flesh that starts to bleed through his white long-sleeved shirt.

As the woman got closer to Tatsumi to deliver the finishing blow, Mine saw that her saviour was badly injured and defenseless so she decided that it was time to act.

"STOP IT, SHEELE!" The pinkette yells as she puts herself in front of the boy who saved her life in the past, and points her big gun towards her fellow teammate, who got in shock after being stopped from killing her objective.

"Mine!? What are you doing!?" The soldier inquired the young girl after seeing the pink haired trying to protect him.

"I won't let you kill him, Sheele!" Mine tells to her partner.

The purple haired suddenly snapped from her merciless trance and asked her friend why she was protecting an imperial soldier.

"He's the boy of my past who i talked to you about! Don't you remember it!?" The sniper girl retorted angrily.

"Huh? I can't remember it..." The airhead innocently says as she tries her best to remember.

"Ugh... You can be so absent-minded sometimes." Mine said while taking her right hand to her forehead in resignation.

"You can be somewhat cruel, Mine." The purple haired replied.

As both members of Night Raid began arguing, the young soldier began to felt dizzy and his vision becames blurry, causing him to fell into the ground.

"Tatsumi!" The short girl exclaims as she rushes along with her partner to aid the young imperial.

"We need to threat him or else he can die from blood loss!" Mine exclaims as she checks Tatsumi's open wound with Sheele's help by tearing part of his suit of armor. Then she tries to stop the blood coming from the young man wound using one of the sleeves from her dress. After giving him first aid, the two girls proceed to carry him and start to discuss where they're going to take him.

"It's too dangerous to get close to the capital now that we caused such a ruckus." Sheele responds to her friend after she hears Mine's idea of going to the capital.

"What about our base? It's just half an hour from here." Mine proposes her comrade.

"But wouldn't our leader punish us for helping an enemy?" The glasses-wearing girl worriedly asks.

"I'm sure that she will understand." The pink haired answers with confidence.

The two girls then get on their way to their base while carrying the young man. After some minutes of travel, the brunette begins to mumble and has visions of Sayo and Ieyasu, his dead childhood friends.

"STAY WITH ME, TATSUMI!" Mine desesperately begs to Tatsumi, as he loses consciousness due to losing too much blood.

* * *

 ** _The next morning..._**

"What happened?" Tatsumi asks as he slowly opens his emerald green eyes due to the tenous ray of the morning sun which passed through the curtains of the small window inside his bedroom and stopped upon his face.

"Man, that surely was a weird dream..." The young man said still feeling somewhat dizzy after recalling the weird events that took place during yesterday.

However, after waking up from his bed, the imperial immediately noticed that it wasn't his bedroom and feels a twinge on the lower side of his abdomen. He checks out and sees bandages across his stomache region, the same exact place where he was wounded by the deadly scissors-shaped weapon of the purple haired woman who almost kills him.

As he was leaving his bed, the door of the room opens and Tatsumi is suddenly meet with a certain short pink haired girl who rushes to his side.

"You got me so worried for you!" The pinkette exclaims as she hugs him tightly and rubs her cheek affectively against his, causing him to blush.

"Mi-mine!?, Ouch!" Tatsumi exclaims in pain due to his still flesh wound.

"Sorry! I forget your wound haven't healed yet! Good think we had Lubbock to suture your wound with his threads." The girl says as she stops hugging the boy.

"W-wait! Where am i? and who's Lubbock!?" The blushing young soldier asks confused.

"You're currently in our base." A tall and slender woman in her mid-to-late tweenties says as she enters the room.

She had short silver hair that made her look somewhat boyish. The young woman was also wearing a black suit that showed her cleavage. However, what caught Tatsumi's attention about her was a black eyepatch where her right eye used to be, and a green mechanical right arm in place of her missing limb.

"Who are you?!" Tatsumi asks to the mysterious woman who was holding a cigarette on her left hand.

"My name is Najenda and i am the leader of Night Raid."

"Night Raid's leader!?" The imperial exclaims in shock.

"That's right. And you must be Tatsumi, correct?"

"Y-yeah." Tatsumi answered with some hesitation at the intimidating glance of the woman that had a sole eye of purple color.

"Mine has told me about you and what happened last night. She said me that you hold your own against Sheele, one of our most skilled assassins. Not bad for an imperial soldier..." The silver haired woman said with a smile after smoking from her cigar.

"Well, she was certainly very skilled. I thought i was a goner there..." The young boy humbly said while remembering Sheele's merciless gaze she had during their fight.

"Mine also told me that you can't remember anything about the day you saved her. Is that true, Tatsumi?" Najenda asks with curiosity.

"Yeah... I'm sorry but I honestly can't remember any of the details she told me about." The green eyed responds still feeling frustrated about this.

"Are you sure he's the boy you told me about, Mine?"

"Yes, i am sure he is!" The pinkette exclaims with confidence.

 _"Hmm... It's really strange that he can't remember a single bit of what happened that day."_ The woman thought.

After a short pause, the young man was very anxious to know what they were going to do with him so he decides to question Najenda about his future.

"Wh-what's going to happen to me now?" Tatsumi asked with a shaky voice.

"You can't leave this hideout for now." Said with a firm voice the leader of the fearsome group of assassins.

"So that means i am a prisoner?" Tatsumi asked with a troubled look on his face.

"Yes and no." The silver haired woman replied while having a calm expression, much to the confusion of the imperial soldier.

"We must make sure you won't reveal anything about us, but Boss is letting you to stay and recover from your injuries." Mine speaks while making a warm smile to the boy she was very grateful for saving her life and giving a purpose to her life.

Mine's words relieved Tatsumi a bit that at least they weren't going to kill him. Although, he still wasn't sure about what they were planning for him.

"Anyway, let's go the dining room. You must be hungry, right?" Najenda asks to the young man.

"Well, i guess so..." Tatsumi said as his stomach growls from hunger, causing a light blush to appear on his cheeks making Mine to giggle by this.

The three then headed to the dining room by walking through the corridors of the base. As soon as they came in the dining room. Tatsumi saw four people reunited there eating breakfast. Then, he immediately recognized the glasses-wearing woman who almost killed him yesterday. She was coming out of the kitchen while carrying some dishes and wearing an apron. She gently waved her hand to greet him causing the four individuals sat in the table to turn their heads and stare at him with serious faces.

"H-hi." The young soldier nervously said.

"I still think you should have killed him, Sheele." Spoke with a nonchalant voice a tall and voluptuous young woman with blonde short hair with two long bangs that frame the sides of her head and golden eyes.

"Mine told me not to when i was about to do it." Sheele told to the scantily dressed girl.

"But we usually don't take prisioners, specially imperial soldiers. So i still can't comprehend why are we keeping him alive." The carefree young woman, retorted.

"Don't be so hard on the boy, Leone. He looks like he just graduated form the imperial academy for recruits, right kiddo~?" A tall and muscular man on his mid tweenties said while winking. He had blue eyes and black hair in a combed up, heart-shaped pompadour hairstyle.

"I-i just graduated after six months of being a recruit..." The brown haired boy humbly responded to the muscular man whom he swear, was giving him some 'weird' vibes while looking at him.

 _"Pretty impressive."_ The young man thought.

"Well, if he held his own against Sheele without dying. He can be to useful to us, anyway." Spoke a young man with shoulder-lenght green hair that covered one of his eyes, that were as the same color of his hair.

He had red goggles on top of his head and wore a long green jacket with a fur trimmed hood over a white and red ringer shirt. He appeared to have an easy-going attitude.

"W-what!?" Tatsumi exclaimed nervously.

"That's right. If you work for us as a double-agent you can gather relevant info and help us kill high-profile objectives in order to weaken the Empire!" Sheele exclaimed a warm smile that made Tatsumi feel confused that she was showing a completely different personality from the merciless assassin that almost ended his life the last night.

"I'm sorry, but i would never agree to do any of that." The young man stated making the purple haired to become sad.

"If you don't comply, we can easily kill you right now." A voice devoid of any emotion said. It was from an average height black haired girl and who was on her mid-to-late teens. She made Tatsumi to feel uncomfortable while she was looking silently at him with her cold crimson eyes while having an emotionless face.

"What Akame said you is true. If you refuse to cooperate with us, you're dead." Najenda spoke after hearing the conversation between her subordinates and the young soldier.

"Hey! He still hasn't recovered and you are already pushing him to work for us?!" The sniper girl protested.

"Is he your boyfriend or somethin'?" Leone questioned the sniper.

"H-he isn't my boyfriend! He just saved my life in the past and i'm just grateful with him for that!" The pinkette furiously replied to the blonde as her face turned completely red.

 _"Tecnically he is, since i promised him to be his girlfriend, but sadly he still can't remember anything about that day..."_ The young girl said in her mind with a depressed expression.

"Well, whatever..." Not paying attention anymore to her comrade, the young woman focused her attention on the troubled imperial whom she tough he was kind of cute.

After realizing that there wasn't any alternative, Tatsumi thought that his best option for now was to cooperate with Night Raid, whom first impressions of them were that all of them were a bunch of crazy freaks.

"I'll do what you say, so what do i have to do?" The brunette asked surprising everyone by his blunt and sudden statement, specially Mine, who looked at him admired by his determination, but worried because of his current state.

Najenda then proceeded to show Tatsumi a photograph of a man, whom Tatsumi immediately recognized. It was Ogre, the fearsome captain of the Imperial Police.

"As a soldier of the imperial army you must've seen him or heard about him, isn't?" Bulat, who was a former soldier of the Empire asked to the brown haired.

"Yeah. I heard rumors about him when i was a recruit. They call him "The Demon." Tatsumi responded after recalling the conversations he had with his academy fellows and instructors.

"Man, that's a badass nickname!" Lubbock exclaimed much to everyone's disbelief, but Najenda's in particular.

"He accepts bribes from an oil merchant named Gamal and other criminals, and often frames innocent people to take the fall for the criminals. He enjoys torturing suspects while interrogating them, abusing his authority and going as far as calling himself "the king of the city."

"He and his men are also responsible for the unfair trails and execution of dozens of innocent people." The black haired girl said with a genuine expression of sadness that made Tatsumi notice that she wasn't as emotionless as he thought at first.

After hearing Akame's words, Tatsumi remembered that when he reached the Capital and couldn't find Sayo and Ieyasu. He went to the Imperial Police headquarters requesting help, sadly for him, they told him that their friends were supposedly killed by bandits. The young man then got decided to investigate further about as a member of the imperial army. Although, with the little free time he had left as an imperial recruit and then as soldier, he couldn't find any relevant clue.

"Tomorrow you'll be using your status as an imperial soldier to get close to him and assassinate him when you have the chance. Got it?" The leader of the assassins organization know as 'Night Raid' orders Tatsumi.

"Understood." The brown haired answered with a firm voice, accepting his mission.

A serious and determined Tatsumi then vowed to find out if Ogre was responsible for what happened to Sayo and Ieyasu, and if that was the case, the man was going to pay with his life for the deaths of his dear childhood friends.

 ** _Will Tatsumi succeed in his first mission?_**

 ** _What secrets will he find about the death of his friends?_**

* * *

 ** _A/N:_**

 _I'm sorry for forgetting about this fic. I seriously hope to update it more frequently..._

 _Don't forget that advices, suggestions and constructive critics are welcome in the reviews section._

 ** _Thanks for reading!_**


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